


What About Me

by onebatch2batch



Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: And maybe a little happy at that end?, Blanket Brothers, Blood Brothers, Gen, Missing Scene, Sooo here's some angst, whichever you prefer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 02:41:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13537968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onebatch2batch/pseuds/onebatch2batch
Summary: Frank wakes up in a hospital bed after his fight with Billy Russo, and there’s someone there to bring him back to his senses.





	What About Me

**Author's Note:**

> Hit 500 followers on tumblr sooo have a reward of angst. And follow me on tumblr if you wanna. <3
> 
> \--
> 
> Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival. – C.S. Lewis

Frank returns to consciousness all at once--it's something he’s done since his time in the Marines. It’s not unusual to him--there’s not much time for waking up slow when you’re in a warzone. Nor is the fact that he’s sore all over. What _is_ unusual is that he’s unable to lift his arms. He realizes he’s strapped down to what looks like a hospital bed, and the room is dark, which he’s thankful for. He’s not sure how long he’s been out, and he lets his eyes drift around the room as he tries to remember his last few moments of consciousness.

The carousel in the park. The mirror meeting Billy’s face. Dinah bleeding her brains out on his lap. Ambulances taking the lot of them to the hospital. Someone injecting him with something, and then blissful, dreamless sleep.

Frank’s eyes find the only light in the room, a soft yellow glow leaking from the cracked bathroom door. He follows the light to the corner, where there’s a familiar head of curly hair snoring lightly in the armchair.

“Lieberman,” Frank calls out, voice low and rough, throat aching from dehydration.

David’s head jerks up and he looks over quickly. “Shit, Frank.” He stands and walks over, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his sweatshirt. David looks like shit--exhausted bruises rest under his eyes, and his hair is sticking up in twenty different directions. “Man, you scared the hell out of me. Madani called me--oh, she’s alive by the way. Thanks to you.” David shifts awkwardly, lets his gaze drift over the bruises on Frank’s face nervously. “Can I uh, get you anything?”

“Water,” Frank mutters. “And get me out of these damn things.”

David grimaces. “You know, uh...I would. But. Madani said she’s working on something and that we should cooperate with--”

“Lieberman, get me out of these _now_.” Frank sighs tiredly; he’s exhausted. “I’m not gonna run. Just want some water.”

There’s a moment where Frank thinks he’s not going to do it, and then David is reaching forward and unstrapping him, casting furtive glances at the door as if someone will walk in and catch him at any moment. When Frank is freed, he reaches over and hands him some water, then watches as Frank drinks. When he’s nearly done, David takes a deep breath and lifts his shoulders. “What the hell happened, Frank?”

Frank glances at him, and then holds out the glass for him to take. David sets it down and switches on a lamp as Frank speaks. “Russo knew everything. He kidnapped some kids, lured me out. That’s all.”

“That’s all? Are you crazy? Madani’s got a hole in her head and you look like someone used you as a punching bag, and Russo’s--”

“Is he here?”

David stops, then sighs and scratches his head. He looks like he’s considering a lie, then shrugs. “Yeah, somewhere. Last I heard he was in surgery still. You--they’re putting his face back together.” Frank doesn’t respond, eyes lighting around the room as he habitually forms an escape strategy. He could care less what Russo’s face looked like. As for as Frank was concerned, that bastard could live with glass in his face for the rest of his life. “Look, you did a lot of damage. I know Madani’s got something planned, but you’ve got to stay put. Okay? She--”

“It doesn’t matter, Lieberman. They’re gonna put me down, and that’s the end of it. I did what I had to do.” He tries to say this casually, distantly, but his heart twists at the thought. Not for himself, necessarily, but for everyone else. This is the end of the road for him. He’ll never see Karen’s wide eyed smile again, or drink shitty coffee with Curtis in a church basement, or teach Leo how to fix something, or drink wine with Sarah, or--he cuts himself off and stares at his lap with a frown. He’s made his bed, and now he has to lay in it. No time to regret how it went down. It’s time.

David is sputtering beside him. Frank can practically feel the anger vibrating off of him. “Are you fucking _kidding_ me?” he seethes, causing Frank to look up. He expects the angry glare directed his way, but feels the air punches out of his lungs when he realizes David’s got hot, angry tears running down his cheeks. “I watched you almost die once, and now you’re--you’re--what the _fuck_ , man? You’re not even going to fight? What about Leo, or Zach, or Sarah, or, or Karen? Or, Jesus, what about _me_?”

“What about you?”

David stares at him, wipes away his tears without shame and steps closer. Frank thinks for a moment he’s about to feel David’s fist connect with his face, but David only says, “Don’t you fucking dare punch me” and wraps himself around Frank in what he realizes is a hug.

Frank’s arms come up automatically in surprise and he feels David shaking against his shoulder. It’s an awkward angle, as David is half-bent over the side rails of the bed, and his height is making it more difficult than it should be, but he stays there for a long time. Frank waits it out, feeling like the biggest asshole in the world.

This is what he does--he comes into people’s lives briefly without concern about what they’ll do when he’s gone. He’s a criminal, a murderer without remorse, and sometimes it still shocks him that people care for him this much. He’s spent so much time knowing he could be put down at any time; he forgets that anyone else would react differently to his death.

David takes his time before he pulls away and steps back, putting distance between them. His eyes are red but dry, and his glare has fizzled out into an anxious stare. “Maybe Madani will figure something out,” he says hopefully. “You can’t just...leave us, Frank. We’re friends. We’re _family_. Right? You can’t just disappear.”

There’s a noise at the door, but David’s staring at him and Frank can’t force himself to look away. David is right--as much as it baffles him, the Liebermans are like a family to him. He can’t bear the thought of them feeling the way he did when he lost his own. He nods carefully as the door opens in his peripheral. A cop walks into the room, glances between them, and his eyes land on Frank’s freed arms. His hand reaches quickly for his gun, but Frank speaks up before he can get there.

“I’m not goin’ anywhere,” he says, loud enough that the cop can hear, but looking to David. A promise.

The cop relaxes slightly, then scowls and points at Lieberman. “You need to get out, before I arrest you too. I’m moving him.”

David breaks their stare and turn to the cop, frowning. “Where are you taking him? Where’s Madani?”

“None of your damn business. Get out of here.”

David looks back at Frank desperately, but Frank only nods reassuringly. “Go on, David.”

There’s a pregnant pause, and maybe it’s his rarely used name that spurs him into action. He sighs and walks out the door without looking back. The cop tosses Frank some scrubs and gestures. “Put those on and put your hands in front of you.”

Frank slowly swings his legs over the side of the bed and pulls himself into a standing position with a grunt. The bruises on his body ache as he changes, but not as much as the echo of David’s words in his head.

_You’re family. You can’t just disappear._

The cop clicks the handcuffs into place and walks him towards the door as Frank makes up his mind. He’ll get through this next part, and then face whatever comes next. But he’s not leaving that family alone--he refuses to disappear.

That’s what friends do, after all.


End file.
